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Prospect Notes: Hernandez, Sheffield, Senzel, Bichette, Vlad Jr., Luzardo

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Here’s the latest on some prospects of note from around the game:

  • The Red Sox brought up top pitching prospect Darwinzon Hernandez for his first taste of the majors, with Alex Speier of the Boston Globe first reporting the move. Hernandez, a 22-year-old from Venezuela, still needs to iron out his command but has shown some impressive swing-and-miss capabilities. It was on display tonight, as he allowed five baserunners but also racked up four strikeouts in 2 1/3 innings in relief.
  • Left-handed pitching prospect Justus Sheffield will join the Mariners on Friday for his first action with his new club, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times reports on Twitter. He’s expected to piggyback with Yusei Kikuchi for a start; it’s possible he’ll be dropped back to Triple-A thereafter, though that’s not yet clear. While he already has 13 days of MLB service on his odometer, Sheffield won’t be able to reach a full year of service even if he stakes a permanent claim to a big-league roster spot. Sheffield hasn’t been himself thus far at Triple-A, carrying an 11:14 K/BB ratio through 18 1/3 innings.
  • It’s possible the Reds will soon welcome top prospect Nick Senzel to the majors. As Fletcher Page of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports, Senzel is back in the lineup at Triple-A after recovering from a sprained ankle. There’s no guarantee that he’ll be promoted in the near-term, but the organization doesn’t have much cause to hesitate at this point. Senzel can no longer achieve a full year of MLB service in 2019; the club is sitting at five games under .500 and can’t wait long to make its move. Once Senzel gets his timing down and gets comfortable in the outfield — he’s lined up in center field tonight for Louisville — he’ll likely be called up.
  • The Blue Jays got some unwelcome news on exciting infield prospect Bo Bichette. Robert Murray and Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic first reported on Twitter that Bichette had suffered a broken hand. As Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca tweets, the fracture was to the second metacarpal of his left hand. Widely considered one of the game’s very best prospects, Bichette will now need to get back to health before he can begin pressing for a major-league promotion. Meanwhile, anticipation grows that teammate Vladimir Guerrero Jr. will soon get the call; Eric Longenhagen of Fangraphs tweets that some around the game anticipate it’ll come this week.
  • Top Athletics prospect Jesus Luzardo is beginning to work back toward the hill, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports (Twitter links). He’s moving from 75 feet to 90 feet tomorrow, so it’s still rather early in his progression back from shoulder soreness. Slusser estimates that it could take four to six weeks before the prized southpaw could be ready for game action. In all likelihood, he won’t be seen as a candidate for a MLB promotion until he has at least a few Triple-A starts under his belt and the club feels confident there aren’t any lingering issues with the joint.

Angels Select Contract Of Sam Freeman

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7:29pm: The move is now official. Justin Upton was shifted to the 60-day injured list to clear a 40-man roster spot. That doesn’t seem to reflect upon his outlook, as he was already expected to be sidelined for the first two to three months of the season with a turf toe injury.

5:59pm: The Angels will select the contract of lefty Sam Freeman in order to activate him for tonight’s game, Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times was among those to tweet. It’s one of several pitching moves for the Halos this evening.

Righty Justin Anderson was recalled to join the roster along with Freeman. Right-handers  Taylor Cole and Luke Bard were sent down on optional assignment to clear space on the 25-man.

Freeman, 31, caught on with the Angels just before the start of the season after he was released by the Braves. He wasn’t at his best in 2018, pitching to a 4.29 ERA. Though he managed a 52.1% groundball rate and rung up 10.4 opposing batters per nine innings on strikes over his 50 1/3 frames, Freeman also permitted an unhealthy number of walks (5.7 BB/9).

Anderson Espinoza Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

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Padres prospect Anderson Espinoza has undergone Tommy John surgery, Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. He’ll miss all of the 2019 season and quite likely a good portion of 2020 as well.

This is terrible news for the 21-year-old hurler, who was nearing a return to competitive action after a long rehab from a prior TJ procedure. It seems his replacement ulnar collateral ligament blew out at the point of the graft.

Espinoza, once a top-20 leaguewide prospect who came to San Diego in the 2016 Drew Pomeranz swap, only threw 32 1/3 innings with the organization that season before his elbow issues arose. He hasn’t been back on the rubber for regular-season action since and still hasn’t pitched above the Class A level.

Carlos Martinez To Return As Reliever

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Cardinals righty Carlos Martinez is planning to work back from the injured list in a relief role, manager Mike Shildt told reporters including Mark Saxon of The Athletic (Twitter link). He’s working back to full health after experiencing shoulder weakness during camp.

This is a notable decision for an organization that has a good bit of cash invested in the 27-year-old hurler. ($11.5MM this year and at least $24MM thereafter.) But it was driven not by the club’s own preferences so much as Martinez’s feelings, according to Shildt.

That’s an interesting shift, as Martinez had made clear previously that he wished to return to the rotation. While there’s little question that Martinez’s greatest upside would be in a starting capacity, that hasn’t seemed to be a priority for the club. Even before the shoulder problems arose, there were suggestions from within the coaching staff that it may be desirable to have him in the bullpen.

Martinez has thrived in both roles for the most part, with a lifetime 3.36 ERA as a starter and 3.46 mark as a reliever. He was more effective last year from the pen, though it’s tough to draw any conclusions from such a small sample. Suffice to say that the power righty is capable of providing excellent output in any situation so long as he’s at full health.

Injury concerns have trailed Martinez of late, but he has mostly been available. He made 92 starts between 2015 and 2018 and even managed to throw 118 2/3 frames despite facing a variety of health issues last year. It seems the decision — at least for now — is that he’s likelier to be of use to the club in the near term if he limits himself to shorter outings.

It still isn’t known just when Martinez will be ready for activation, though it’ll likely come sooner given the decision to utilize him in relief. He has yet to embark upon a rehab assignment and that does not seem imminent, though the latest update on his condition was generally quite positive.

For the Cards, there’s certainly greater need in the rotation based upon the early results. Every member of the rotation is averaging over 4.5 earned runs per nine, while several pitchers are generating strong results in the relief corps. That picture could still change, of course, and there’s no doubt that Martinez will improve the relief unit quite a bit. It’ll be interesting to see just how he’s utilized — as a late-inning hurler, floating high-leverage arm, and/or multi-inning asset — once he’s back to full speed.

Nick Burdi Diagnosed With Strained Biceps Tendon, Flexor Mass

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April 23: ESPN’s Jeff Passan tweets some encouraging news following Burdi’s MRI. While the imaging did reveal strains in the right-hander’s biceps tendon and flexor mass, there’s no break or complete tear of anything in Burdi’s arm. He’ll be sidelined for an indefinite period of time, but it seems that he may have avoided the need for another surgery.

April 22: Pirates reliever Nick Burdi was removed from his appearance tonight after suffering an apparent arm injury. After throwing a pitch, he immediately fell to the mound and grabbed his biceps in obvious pain.

There’s no indication as of yet as to the seriousness of the injury, but the clubhouse reaction left no more cause for optimism than did the scene that unfolded on the field. As MLB.com’s Adam Berry reports (Twitter links), Burdi’s teammates described the situation as “heartbreaking” and “heart-wrenching” to watch.

For now, the organization has said only that the 26-year-old is dealing with pain in the elbow/biceps area. The club’s director of sports medicine, Todd Tomczyk, added that he and his staff are still “gathering information” to make a “definitive diagnosis.”

When he went down this evening, Burdi was in the midst of a brutal outing. But he had also shown immense promise in his first ten appearances of the season, compiling an outlandish 17:2 K/BB ratio in 8 1/3 innings with a 20.1% swinging-strike rate. With a 97+ mph fastball paired with a vicious slider, Burdi has the tools of a potential late-inning stalwart.

The talent, though, has never really been in question. Burdi was plucked in the second round of the 2014 draft; his brother, Zack Burdi, went in the late first round two years later. Both were expected to move quickly into MLB bullpens, but unfortunately instead shared overlapping Tommy John rehab stints.

When the Twins left (Nick) Burdi unprotected in the 2017 Rule 5 draft, the Pirates pounced. They shipped international money to the Phillies, who used their position with the third overall selection to make the selection. Burdi spent much of 2018 rehabbing before briefly ascending to the majors late last year.

The Bucs still haven’t had Burdi on the active roster long enough to secure his rights permanently. He’s at 56 days of active service, 34 shy of the 90-day minimum. If this injury proves to require a lengthy absence, the Pirates can simply shift Burdi to the 60-day injured list, though roster pressures would nevertheless mount in the offseason. In that case, Burdi will still have accrued 2 full seasons of MLB service by the end of the 2019 campaign, though hardly in the manner he’d have hoped.

Brewers, Mets Showing Initial Interest In Gio Gonzalez

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Now that he’s back on the open market and up to competitive speed, veteran lefty Gio Gonzalez looks to be a fit for several clubs around baseball. The Brewers are among those with interest, per SNY.tv’s Andy Martino, who has previously linked the Mets to the southpaw. The New York organization is said be “inquiring” on Gonzalez, per Matt Ehalt of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter).

Both of those clubs are quite familiar with Gonzalez. He spent the end of the 2018 season in Milwaukee. That followed a lengthy stint with the Nationals, during which time he often faced the Mets.

Gonzalez is obviously past his peak at 33 years of age, but he topped 200 frames with a sub-3.00 ERA as recently as 2017 and is among the game’s most durable hurlers. He was effective in five starts late last year with the Brewers, though his postseason showing did not impress.

Through three starts at Triple-A with the Yankees organization, Gonzalez allowed ten earned runs on 19 hits. At the same time, he compiled a strong 19:6 K/BB ratio. The showing wasn’t sufficient for the Yanks to add him to their roster, but did give other teams a good look.

That these two contenders have interest seems to be a good indication that Gonzalez drew relatively positive scouting reviews. Of course, it’s also a reflection of the states of their pitching staffs. It remains to be seen whether Gonzalez will sign right onto an active roster — and, if so, at what price. His deal with the Yankees included a $3MM base salary and up to $9MM in incentives, making for a rather hefty potential payout for a minors contract.

Pirates Activate Gregory Polanco, Option Steven Brault

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We’re a smidge late on this one, as he’s already in action tonight, but it’s nevertheless worth highlighting that the Pirates have activated outfielder Gregory Polanco. To create active roster space, the club optioned Steven Brault.

When Polanco underwent surgery late last season with a torn shoulder labrum, it wasn’t entirely clear how long he’d be out. Indeed, that’s the sort of injury that can hamper a player even when he is back on the field.

As it turns out, Polanco was able to return to the majors at the early end of the estimates. (And he’s two-for-three with a walk already this evening.) That’s great news for his long-term outlook; clearly, he healed quickly and did not experience any setbacks or new issues during his rehab work.

It’s also critically important for the Bucs’ 2019 hopes. With Starling Marte now sidelined indefinitely, joining Corey Dickerson and Lonnie Chisenhall on the injured list, the outfield was badly in need of reinforcement.

The 27-year-old Polanco had an up-and-down showing in 2018, but ended the campaign with a career-best .254/.340/.499 slash and 23 long balls over 535 plate appearances. That’s the sort of output the Pittsburgh organization had long hoped to receive. Whether Polanco can pick up where he left off will have significant bearing on the Pirates’ ability to maintain a narrow early lead in a hotly contested NL Central.

As for Brault, he has been utilized mostly in a relief capacity of late but will be stretched out at Triple-A, manager Clint Hurdle told reporters including Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic (Twitter link). The 26-year-old hadn’t been used much at all in the early going. He is now sitting on 1.110 years of MLB service, meaning that he still needs 62 more days of MLB action this year to enter a new service class by season’s end.

Mets Place Justin Wilson On 10-Day IL; MRI Clean For DeGrom

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The Mets announced today that they’ve placed southpaw reliever Justin Wilson on the 10-day injured list, as Tim Britton of The Athletic was among those to cover (Twitter links). He’s experiencing elbow soreness, but the club indicated it anticipates a brief IL stint after receiving the results of an MRI.

The imaging gods are shining on Queens, it seems. Ace starter Jacob deGrom’s MRI came back negative, so his elbow scare appears to be just that. deGrom was able to throw a pen session earlier today; it seems likely he’ll be ready for activation at or near the 10-day minimum.

A few other roster tweaks are also in the books. The Mets activated third baseman Todd Frazier, as anticipated, and called up infielder Luis Guillorme. (Guillorme boosts the infield depth further with both Robinson Cano and Amed Rosario dealing with minor issues.) To create an additional active roster spot, the Mets optioned down righty Paul Sewald.

Wilson’s absence leaves a notable hole in the New York pen — though the hope is it’s only a temporary one. Wilson has thrown 8 1/3 useful innings to open the year, allowing three earned runs on six hits with eight strikeouts and four walks. There are two other southpaws available in Luis Avilan and Daniel Zamora, but the former has been torched while the latter hasn’t yet pitched in the bigs this season.

Rockies Place Kyle Freeland On 10-Day IL

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The Rockies announced today that southpaw Kyle Freeland has been placed on the 10-day inured list with a blister. He’ll be replaced by fellow southpaw Tyler Anderson, who was activated from his own stint on the IL.

It had been hoped that the blister to Freeland’s left middle finger wouldn’t require any time on the shelf, but it seems not to have responded quite as well as had been hoped. Blisters can become major problems for pitchers, though there’s no reason at this point to think Freeland’s will turn into a long-lasting issue.

The news comes as a mild disappointment for a club that has been on a nice run of late. Freeland, 25, finished fourth in the Cy Young voting last year and is a key rotation cog for Colorado. Then again, it may not amount to much at all; with his IL placement backdated to April 19th, he could in theory will miss only a single start. That’s just what the southpaw is hoping for, Nick Groke of The Athletic tweets.

As for Anderson, the 29-year-old will be looking to bounce back after experiencing knee inflammation and throwing two rough outings to open the year. He hasn’t reached the heights some might have hoped for a first-round pick, but has been useful for the Rox since reaching the majors in 2016. Anderson showed a worrying velocity drop of nearly 2 mph to open the current campaign; that’s something to watch now that he’s back in action.

Marlins Fire Hitting Coach Mike Pagliarulo

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The Marlins announced after tonight’s game that they have fired hitting coach Mike Pagliarulo from his post, as MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro as among those to report (Twitter link). He’ll be replaced by Jeff Livesey on an interim basis, with the role of assistant hitting coach to be filled by Eric Duncan.

Pagliarulo had taken the helm in advance of the 2016 season, marking his first MLB coaching role. The former big-league third baseman had previously worked as a Triple-A hitting coach. Livesey, the former assistant hitting coach with the Pirates, was added to the Miami staff before the current campaign. Duncan, once a lauded Yankees prospect, never made it to the majors but had been moving up the chain as a hitting coach in the New York farm system.

President of baseball operations Michael Hill explained the decision (via Wells Dusenberry of the Sun Sentinel, on Twitter), calling the Marlins “an easy team to pitch to.” With the organization determining that “the necessary adjustments” hadn’t been made, it was decided that “it was time for a new voice and subsequently a change needed to be made.”

While expectations were low for the Marlins entering the season, the club has certainly scuffled more than might have been hoped. Through 680 plate appearances, Miami hitters were carrying a cumulative .216/.275/.332 batting line with the league’s second-worst walk rate (6.6%) and fourth-lowest wRC+ (65).

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